There’s no indication that the Cavaliers are considering trading Donovan Mitchell, and the star guard shut down that topic of conversation following injuries to teammates Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. However, in an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton argues that it’s something the team should think about, given that Cleveland doesn’t appear to be a legitimate title contender in the short term and Mitchell can become a free agent in 2025.
As Pelton writes, if the Cavaliers aren’t confident in their ability to extend Mitchell beyond his current deal, they could maximize his value on the trade market by moving him sooner rather than later, potentially getting back pieces that could complement Garland and Mobley as they enter their respective primes.
It seems unlikely that the Cavs will heed Pelton’s advice and make Mitchell available in advance of this season’s trade deadline. But if the four-time All-Star eventually ends up on the trade block, the Knicks, Nets, Heat, and “at least two other” Southwest teams would be among the potential suitors to watch, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on his latest Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip to NetsDaily).
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- Ever since Damian Lillard requested a trade out of Portland, forward Jerami Grant has been viewed as a logical trade candidate, given that he seems to be on a different timeline than the rebuilding Trail Blazers. However, Danny Marang of 1080 The Fan in Portland (Twitter link) says he continues to hear the team has “zero interest” in moving Grant and is happy with the role he’s playing on the current roster.
- Teams around the NBA are keeping an eye on the Hawks to see if they’ll become a trade deadline seller, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack story. Atlanta was at the center of several offseason trade rumors – many of which involved Clint Capela and/or De’Andre Hunter – but didn’t end up doing anything too significant and is off to an underwhelming (11-15) start this fall.
- Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (video link) confirms that Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is considered available via trade, as previous reports have suggested. Clarkson likes playing in Utah and isn’t seeking an exit, Haynes notes, but multiple contenders have inquired about him.
Trae Young to New Orleans
CJ McCollum, (Jose Alvarado or Dyson Daniels), Milwaukee’s 2025 1st & NO’s top10 protected 2027 1st to Atlanta… Hawks get much better defensively & shave about $8-10M off next yrs team salary. Also recoup 1sts in yrs that we currently don’t have a pick. Losing a franchise great obv hurts but bringing Tech legend Jose back to ATL softens the blow. Dejounte & CJ are a really nice backcourt for the next few seasons & hopefully Bufkin will be ready whenever CJ starts slowing down…. Pels bring in a future HOF pg in his prime with multiple yrs on his contract. Trae/Zion/BI should keep them in contention for yrs to come
Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to trade Clint. He’s on a great contract, he’s 1 of the best rebounders & big man defenders in the world & he’s in his prime. Onyeka is def 1 of the best backup bigs in the league but he’d be a clear downgrade from Clint as a starter. Upgrading from Dre isn’t a bad idea but he’s also signed long-term for a good # & is just now entering his prime. We’d have to get replacements for those guys if we were to move them & it’s prob smarter to just keep them & address our defensive shortcomings instead. It’s pretty obv that Trae is the primary reason why our team defense is as bad as it is. Moving him immediately helps our team defense. Adding Jose would also be a big help even if he’s only playing 18-24mins/gm. CJ isn’t as dynamic offensively as Trae but he’s a savvy vet who should pair well with guys like Dejounte & Bogdan
That’s an awful deal for Atlanta. Your giving up a young star with no current star, potential future star, or high end draft assets coming back
Yea I gotta admit I don’t really care about if a guy is classified as a star at all tbh. Dejounte, CJ, Dre, Jalen & Clint are a strong, versatile lineup whether u consider any of them stars or not. A reserve unit with Jose, Bogdan, Saddiq & Onyeka is pretty tough as well. True we wouldn’t get any top end assets in this deal but I personally rather have a vet like CJ than having to bet on a future Lakers pick or something like that. Hawks have enough talent to win in this 5yr window & don’t need to wait. We’d have 3 1sts in the next 2yrs & a 1st in every other yr after that now. That plus a strong team with a bunch of young guys (Dre, Jalen, Onyeka, Bufkin, AJ, etc) should be enough to keep the future bright
As far as being a “star” player Young has lost a lot of his shine from the fluke playoff run the Hawks had a few seasons back and the only reason McCollum and Murray aren’t “stars” is circumstance. They’ve both played well on teams for years that don’t get a lot of media attention.
lol u must be a knicks fan
oh hell no. Hawks ain’t giving Trae away
He’s a huge strain on the defense & even tho he’s still absolutely great offensively (& a joy to watch fr) he doesn’t get calls the way he did back when we made that ECF run
I think they would try and trade Murray first. He really hasn’t been anywhere near as good as he was in San Antonio. Whether that’s because he’s the second option, because Pop isn’t coaching him anymore, or because that was just a peak version of himself and he was never going to make that a standard is up for debate, so another team might be willing to take a chance on him, particularly if they need a PG.
Trae’s ability to command the offense makes him about as good as the weapons you can surround him with. The Hawks looked way better with a healthy Jalen Johnson, for example, and when his teammates were firing on all cylinders, so was he. He’s also been better this season on D than in years past. Not *good*, but at least not among the worst defenders of all time. With his offense, pretty much any team will take just regular “bad at defense” from their PG. I’d keep him unless the Hawks get a really knockout of an offer or decide to tear down and rebuild (neither of which is likely, imo).
Capela’s regression on both ends has been hurting the Hawks since the 2021 playoffs. More aggression from him is needed if he wants to stay.
I gotta disagree with most everything u said
This is why you aren’t a GM. Zero chance of that trade happening.
Clarkson needs a new environment to help shake whatever he’s going through. He’d be perfect on a playoff team needing a 6th man who can score. He’s barely 31, so he’s got a lot of years left.
76er’s would be good for Clarkson. There starting 5 is good but other than Oubre the bench has a hard time scoring.
Clarkson would be a nice addition to sixers but doubt they have the balls to make that kind of move.
Other teams will make better offers as sixers will be stingy.
The jazz act like everyone is available but the price is steep. No way every player is available.
The only way Cleveland should trade Spida…
Spida & Dean Wade to Houston
Jalen Green, Jae’Sean Tate, Cam Whitmore, Oladipo, Boban, Hou’s 2024 1st & a BK’s 2026 1st to Cleveland..
Cleveland would draft Bronny with 1 of their 2 1sts, bring back Bron (again), & ride with a young core of Garland/JaGreen/Mobley)
Maybe, *maybe* if it was Tari Eason over Green. And another first. Whitmore has barely played and the Cavs aren’t looking to rebuild. As a Cavs fan, I don’t like that deal very much, especially with Green involved, as he’s still the exact same player that he was as a rookie. Heck, in some ways, he’s worse. 2-12 last night and he had no idea what he was doing; looked totally lost and needed a map to find his way on both ends. 37 yo Jeff Green was the best Green on the court last night.
Seem sorta obv that they’d want Jalen Green instead of Tari Eason, especially if they’re trading their scoring guard
There are other scoring guards on the roster, and we would likely want to improve defensively. Rolling with Strus or LeVert at the 2 is fine in the short term; we’ve done both with Garland or Mitchell out in the past and it works. Garland and an involved Mobley + Allen can carry the offense well enough, given spacing from the rest of the roster. The Cavs are a defense-first team. We’d maybe make another trade for a guard if we had to, but Green isn’t a good fit, or even a good player imo. He’s just so stagnant and doesn’t play well with others.
I love Mitchell, but his iso plays kill us. His surface numbers are great, but among guys with his usage rate, he’s easily the lowest in PPG and shooting efficiency, and he’s not great on defense. He needs to be more of a team player if he wants to stick around. The last couple games without Garland, he’s been good in that regard. But that’s without Garland.
Not a bad trade idea, but from a Cleveland POV I’d expect they would rather try and get Jabari Smith Jr over both Tari and Jalen. He would be a floor spacing 4 with a good outside shot, giving Mobley the much needed chance to move to the C.
Not sure how the trade would work but it gives Houston their new star(that may be a flight risk). And Cleveland get a good young 2-way PF and enables them to move Allen for more pieces, likely a 2-way guard. Still think if it happens Mitchell returns to SG and Green moves to the bench starting FVV at the point.
CLE trading DM before the summer would reflect the sad state of affairs in the NBA personnel market. They acquired him only 15 months ago in a trade that depleted their drafts of real value through 2029. A FO that had the confidence in the resulting core group to make that trade should have the confidence to stay with the idea for at least two full seasons. Particularly when the first season was, for the most part, a success. If DM re-upping after 1 year was so important to their assessment, then the trade should never have been made. CLE ownership shouldn’t approve a trade of DM this year unless the request is accompanied by the resignation of the FO people who made the first one.